Building block



Dec. 29, 1925. 1,567,430

- C. M. EBERLING vBUILDINGv BLOCK 2 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Nov. 21, 192s IIIIIIII 29 .l 2211211 for 9am ./'y

3y 'WKK Dec. 29I 1925' c. M. EBERLING BUILDING BLOCK Filed Nov. 21, 1923 2 sheets-sheet 2 f7 Q12 ggf-3152; z

- E??? .b21/enfer Patented Dec. 29,- 1925.

- UNITED STATES CHARLES M. EBRLING, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

BUILDING BLOCK Application il'ed November 21, 1923. Serial No. 676,150.'

To all whom it may concer/n:

Be it known that I, CHARLES M. EBERLING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Building Blocks, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to building blocks, by which I mean concrete blocks, hollow tile, bricks, and the like whether made of concrete, clay, terra cotta, plaster or other materials and has for its object the provision of an article of this character which can be more easily grasped, transported, and laid than heretofore, which can be handled with one hand, and which shall shield that hand from injury. Tiles and building blocks of cement, clay, and other materials have long been known, both solid and hollow, but near ly all of them have required two hands for their mani ulation, which has delayed the rapidity o Aconstruction by requiring the mason to lay down his trowel at frequentl intervals,and has furthermore caused repeated injury by bringing his knuckles into contact with the adjacent blocks or tiles whose edges are generally harsh and rough; and while many of these tiles have been formed with cavities to decrease their weight and to facilitate their manufacture, these cavaties have never been so designed as to form convenient hand holds, frequently by not being located on the side which is uppermost when the tile is laid, and even in cases where these holes have been formed in their top surface they have not been so arranged as to enable the convenient insertion and gripping action of the lingers.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this application I have illustrated certain improved tiles of my invention as devised to overcome these difficulties and to accomplish these advantages which I have enumerated. Fig. 1 illustrates .the manner of building a wall using my improved tiles; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of one of the tiles shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an end elevation and Fig. 4 a side elevation of the same; Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view; Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view corresponding to the line 6 6 of Figs. 2 and 4; and Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view corres onding `to the line 7--7 of Figs. 2, 3, 5, an 6. Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a modified form of tile embodying my invention; Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view through another modification corresponding to the section 9-9 in Figs. 10 and 11; Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to the line l0- 10 in Figs. 8, 9, and 11 and Fig. 11 is a cross sectional view corresponding to the line 11 in Figs. 8, 9, and 10. Fig. 12 is a top )lan view and Fig. 13 a bottom plan view o another modification; Figs. 14 and 15 are respectively side and end elevations thereof; Fig. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view corresponding to the line 16-16 in Figs. 12 and 13, and Fig. 17 is a cross sectional View corresponding to the line 17-17 of Figs. 12, 14, and 16.

My improved building block or tile consists of a rectangular piece of concrete, cement, clay, plaster, or other suitable building material having in the upper side thereof a pair of slots separated by a web which is of less depth than the tile and adapted to be surrounded by the workmans lingers in gripping relation. these slots are formed on the widest or the narrowest side of the block since this will depend upon which Iside of the block is intended to be laid upmost; and it is entirely within my invention to form such openings on` two or more sides of the block. It is likewise immaterial whether the finger slots and hand grip run lengthwise or crosswise of the block, or what other provisions be present in the way of webs and apertures, although it is best to have the hand grip disposed opposite the center of gravity of the article so that it may hang comfortably, and that the top be not formed with too many or too large apertures to impede the convenient application of mortar. The particular designs herein illustrated have been selected merely as typical of the different arrangements suggested.

In Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, I have shown a preferred form comprising a rectangular hollow shelly whose sides are imperforate eX- cepting for the hand holes 2 2 at the top and the cavities opening through the bottom. The interior of this block is traversed by two spaced transverse webs 3-8 and by a central longitudinal web 4, thereby defining six cavities, namely a pair of square cavities 8-8 adjacent each end and a pair of oblong cavities 9--9 at the middle. The web It is immaterial whetherI ion 4 is cut away at the center of the block so vas substantially to mergethe ,cavities 9-9 together and produce a grip which the work mens fingers can surround, suiiicient depth of web being left to support the weight of the tile. Owing to the small amount of opening in the top surface there isno hindrance to the use of mortar, and while a certain amount voi? mortar willpbe pressed into the cavities whenthe block is laid,- its eii'ect will be to key the wall more firmly together. Further a tile constructed as' described can easily be broken into twoI parts of equal size which is one reason for disposing the webs as lndlcated.

Another feasible mode of making a tile' is shown in Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive, in which the cavities 12--12 run entirely through the block from bottom to top, there being a central longitudinal web 13 which is cut away 'art the center as shown in Fi 10 to 11 to permit it to be surrounded giy the workmans fingers. The web 13 can either extend unsupported from one lendl to the other as shown in Fi 8, or it can be connected .to the side wal s by cross webs 1li-414 at intervals as shown 1n Fig. 9.

In Figs. 12 to 17, inclusive, I have shown 4`a tile with the hand slots 2-2 arranged vcan easily lay twice as man .hold provisions. The laborers like them,

the unions have 'oiiiciall approved them, the contractorsdemand t em, and the construction of buildin s with them is noticeably cheapened. It will be understood that many changes in detail and design can be made within the scope of my invention and -I do not limit myself to any of the features herein shownl vexcept as specifically recited in my several claims.

Havin thus described what I c aim is:

1. A building block havin fa substantially rectangular body formeA in one side with a pair of slots having a width suiiicient to admit a workmans hand and' separated by a web of such depth as can be embraced by a workmans fingers, the slot-s being of suiiicient. length in `a directionV parallel to said web to admit a workmans hand.

2. 'A building block having a hand-hold in its upper surface symmetrically located with. res ect to the `margins 'of the block, said han -hold having a length at least as great as the width of the human hand including a member whichl the fingers can embrace. p

3. A` buildin block comprisin a Hollow shell traversed y one or more we s, the top surface of' said shell bein formed with a pair of spaced slots locate lone on each side of. aweb, and the depth of such 'web'at that point being not greater than the length of a mans fingers and the len h of the slot being at least as greatA as t e width of a mans hand. K y

4. A building block comprising a hollow rectangular shell having a lifting handle located wholly within its rectangular outline .and symmetrically withJ regard to its weight, said handle beingremoved from the side edges of the block and of a depth to be grasped by the iingers and of a width to receive a workmans hand. v

5. A buildingblock having in. an otherwise unbroken side thereof a pair of spaced -parallel slots of a length to receive a workmans hand and width to receive the fingers separated by a web of a depth to be embraced by the lingers. A,

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aix my signature.

CHARLES M. lLBERLINGf.J

my invention, y 

